Scribing instrument



ufr-1 Sept. 8, 1959 E. H. Kol-:MG 2,902,760

SCRIBING INSTRUMENT Filed Sept. 17, 1956 INVENTOR F g.II EUGENE H.KOENIG 47T /P/VEY SCRIBING INSTRUMENT Eugene H. Koenig, Teaneck, NJ.,assignor to Keulel & Esser Company, Hoboken, NJ., a 'corporation of NewJersey Application September l17, 1956, Serial No. 610,266

2 Claims. (Cl. 30-164.9)

lmanner can be used directly as a negative for reproduction of the mapon photosensitive materials by contact exposure.

One type of scribing instrument which has been used for the productionof drawings such as maps onthese scribe coated materials consists of aheavy body which is provided with three feet for contacting Ythe surnitetates Fatent face to be scribed.` A spindle carrying the scribing toolis secured to this body and the scribing tool is forced downward againstthe surface to be scribed by means of a compression spring providedwithin the spindle.

Using a scribing instrument of this type, the scribing tool immediatelycomes in contact with the material to be scribed when the instrument isplaced upon the surface and the tool penetrates the scribe coating.ConsiderableV skill is therefore necessary in order to bring lthesoribing point down at exactly the right spot on `the sheet. Now it hasbeen found that the use of a scriber of this general type can be:greatly simplified by providing means tworhold thev scribing pointabove -the plane determined by the three feet attached to the body ofthe scriber. This permits the body of the scriber to be placed upon thesurface to be scribed without bringing the point of the scribing tool incontact with the scribe coating. The body may then be brought into thedesired position on the sheet and the tool lowered at will to bring thesoribing tool in contact with the material under the action of thecompression spring. The scribing instrument is then moved over thesurface to scribe lines in the usual manner and when a line is finishedthe scribing tool may again be raised off the surface and the instrumentmoved to a new location without any danger of unintentionally adding atail to the line as the scriber is lifted from the surface.

The above objects of the invention and the means for their attainmentwill be more fully understood after reading the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. I is a view in plan of the new scribing instrument.

Fig. II is a view in elevation of the new scribing in strument.

Fig. III is a view in sectional elevation of the spindle of the newscribing instrument taken along the line III-III of Fig. I and lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. IV is a View in horizontal section of the spindle of the newscribing instrument taken along a horizontal line passing through thecenter line of the screws 52 in Fig. lll and looking downward.

Referring to the drawings, the body 2 of the scribing instrument is madeup of a casting of substantial weight of a material such as brass or thelike. It has been found that increasing the weight of the body wasdesirable in order to assure that the body would not tip during thescribing operation. The body 2 is provided with three feet 4 which arecarried at the lower end of lthree screws 6 threaded through the castingas shown in Fig. I. Prefer- Iably, the feet 4 consist of steel ballsinserted into recesses provided in the bottom end of the screws 6 andthe balls are held in the screws by spinning some of the metal of thescrews over the balls. An anti-friction washer such as a washer made ofpolytetratluoroethylene may be provided in each of the recesses in thescrews 6 above ythe balls.

The body 2 is also provided with a vertical cylindrical hole to receivethe spindle 8. As shown in Fig. III,

vthe spindle 8 includes a vertical tubular member 10 which is providedwith a horizontal shoulder 12 which con- .tacts the upper surface of thebody 2. The portion of the vertical tubular member 10 which extendsbelow the shoulder 12 is provided with an outer cylindrical surface-which fits the vertical cylindrical hole through the extension 14 ofthe body 2.. A knurled set screw 16 is provided as shown in Figs. I andII to secure the spindle 8 to the body 2.

A shaft 1S is mounted inthe bore of the vertical tubular member 10 bymeans of two ball bearings 20 and 22. The upper `ball bearing 20 ismounted in a cap 24. Thecap 24 is free to slide in the verticaldirection within the upper enlarged bore 26 of the vertical tubularmember 10. A compression spring 28 urges the cap 24 and thereby also theshaft 18 downwardly. Thus a tool 30 carried in the tool holder 32 willbe forced against the surface of a scribe material by the pressure ofthe cornpression spring 28. The lower end of the shaft 18 is providedwitha conical taper 34 terminating in a threaded cylindrical portion ofreduced diameter 36. The lower` end of the shaft 18 is also split fromthe line 38 in Fig. III downward. The threaded portion 36 fits amatching thread in the tool holder 32. The toolholder 32 is alsoprovided with a conical surface which engages the conical portion 34 ofthe shaft when the tool holder 32 is tightened on'the shaft by `means ofthe threads. The engagement of the conical surfaces compresses the splitend of the shaft 18 so that it will grasp the tool 30 and hold itfirmly. A pin hole 40 is provided in the shaft 18 for use in holding theshaft when the tool holder 32 is tightened thereon. An additional hole42 is provided in the tool holder 32 which may alternatively be used tocarry the tool 30. When the tool 30 is carried in the hole 42 it issecured therein by tightening the knurled set screw 44. In some scribingwork it is preferable to use the tool in the hole 42 which is displacedfrom the center of the shaft 18 so that the tool follows curves smoothlyas the scriber is moved over the material to be scribed; the shaft 18being free to turn within the bearings 20 and 22.

The outer race of the bearing 22 is fixed in the vertical tubular member10. However, the shaft 1S is free to slide within the inner race of thebearing 20 in order that the shaft 18 will be responsive to the actionof the compression spring 28. The vupper end of the compression spring28 is confined by the cap 46 which is threaded on the vertical tubularmember 10. The outside surface of the cap 46 is knurled for ease inturning the cap in order to adjust the pressure applied to the tool bymeans of the compression spring 28.

A pin 48 shown in Fig. I and in Fig. IV extends` horizontally from thevertical tubular member 10 and acts as a pivot means for the yoke 50which extends -a little more than half way around the tubular member 10.As shown in Fig. III and in Fig. IV, the screws 52 are threaded throughboth ends of the yoke 50, extend through slots 54 in the verticaltubular member and engage slots in the cap 24. The yoke 50 is providedwith a handle 57 by means of which the yoke may be pivoted about the pin48 to raise the screws 52 and thereby lift the tool 30 o of the surfaceto be scribed against the action of the compressionspring 28. The upperends of the slots 54 are notched and a compression spring 59 isVprovided within the handle 57 acting between the yoke 50 and the pin 48to hold the screws S2 in a locked position in the notches 55 when it isdesired to keep the tool on" the surface to be scribed. When it isdesired to release the tool, a slight pressure on the handle 57 willrelease the screws 52 from the notches 55 and permit the tool to movedownwardly under the action of the compression spring 28.

A magnifier 56 in the form of a sector of a lens is attached to thevertical tubular member 10 in order to f the best viewing of the tool30. At the same time, the

magnifier may be pivoted around the vertical `tubular shaft 10 for thesame purpose. By tightening the nut provided on the screw 62sufliciently enough friction can be produced between the metal strips 58and 60 and the metal strip 64 and between the metal strip 64 and thevertical tubular member 10 so that the magniiier 56 will hold itsadjusted position. 1

` Having thus described the invention what is claimed is: 1. A scribercomprising a heavy body provided with three feet for engaging a surfaceto be scribed, a vertical cylindrical member carried by said body, amember sliding within said vertical cylindrical member and carryingalscribing tool at its lower end and a compression spring mounted withinsaid vertical cylindrical member and urgi ing the -member carrying thescribing tool downward against the surface to be scribed, a pivotsecured to said VVA vertical cylindrical member, a levery pivoted onsaid 4 pivot and engaging the member carrying the scribing tool throughan opening in said vertical cylindrical inember, whereby the membercarrying the scribing tool may be urged upwardly by said lever tocompress said spring and relieve the pressure on the scribing tool sothat the scriber may be moved from one position on `the surface to bescribed to another without scribing the surface and without thenecessity of lifting the scriber body.

2. A scriber comprising a heavy body provided with three feet forengaging a surface to be scribed, a vertical cylindrical member carriedby said body, a member sliding within said vertical cylindrical memberand carrying a scribing tool at its lower end and a compression springmounted Within Y said vertical cylindrical member and urging the membercarrying the scribing tool downward against the surface to be scribed, apin extending horizontally from said vertical cylindrical member, alever having a hollow handle portion engaging said horizontal pin topivot said lever von said vertical cylindrical member 'and a yokeportion partially extending around said vertical cylindrical member,means extending inward from 'said yoke portion of said lever throughslots in said vertical cylindrical member and engaging the membercarrying the scribing tool, whereby the member carrying the scribingtool may be urged upwardly by said lever to "compress said spring andrelieve the pressure on the scribingtool, said slots in said verticalcylindrical member terminating in notches which engage the meansexftending inward from said yoke portion of said lever to engage themember carrying the scribing tool toy hold said spring in compressedposition keeping said scribing tool ofI the surface to be scribed sothat the scriber may be moved from one position on the surface to bescribed to another without scribing the surface and without thenecessity of lifting the scriber body.

References lCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,017,287 Gran et al Feb. 13, 1912 2,744,329 Way et al. May 8, 19,56 l2,748,474 Brown ,June 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS A 80,177 `-Germany Mar. 7,1895

